Mike McCoy was back in the Denver area over the weekend tying up loose ends and watching his son Luke play in two youth basketball games.

"Something I won't be able to do very often for a while here," said McCoy, the new head coach of the San Diego Chargers.

McCoy, the Broncos' offensive coordinator the past four seasons, returned Sunday to San Diego. His family will stay in the Denver area until the end of the school year while McCoy tries to fix a Chargers team that has been broken the past two seasons.

In a perverted twist, the Broncos' playoff loss to the Baltimore Ravens helped McCoy become an NFL head coach. Had the Broncos won, McCoy would have been calling plays Sunday at Sports Authority Field at Mile High in the AFC championship game against the New England Patriots. Instead, Denver's 38-35, double-overtime loss to the Ravens made McCoy available.

One day after the Broncos were eliminated, the Chargers contacted McCoy. He stayed here that Sunday to participate in the Broncos' exit interviews and flew last Monday morning to San Diego for his own interview session. He was offered the head coaching job that afternoon. The Chargers were aware that two other teams also wanted a crack at McCoy.

He flew back to Denver last Monday night to discuss the Chargers' offer with his wife, Kellie. They agreed to move on to the top of the coaching profession.

"It's strange how this business works sometimes," McCoy said. "I'm leaving a great organization, a great city. I want to thank Pat Bowlen, John Elway, John Fox. I couldn't have asked for better people to work for. They were great to me. My wife and I, we met a lot of great people in our four years there.

"But I'm joining another great or- ganization. I'm with the San Diego Chargers now and this is a great opportunity."

Two things happened with the Broncos last week — one good, one bad — while McCoy was busy putting together his first NFL coaching staff in San Diego.